Prayers, positive thoughts, and social media posts can do their part in comforting the victims of this tragedy, but what we need is ACTION.

Here are a few things you can do within the next week (or forever!) to help out.

1. Donate blood.

The victims of this tragedy and the hospitals rushing to help them need your help, especially in the form of O Negative, O Positive and AB Plasma donors.

You can also donate through you local Red Cross or Blood Bank all across the country.

2. Contact your local representatives and urge them to take action on gun safety measures.

I know there are responsible gun owners out there. If you are, then you should have no problem passing a test to get a gun license, a background check, and a few other measures to obtain a gun. You should not need weapons of such ridiculous force to protect yourself. Gun owners, of all people, should be pushing for gun reform.